Gun locking system and method of use

ABSTRACT

A gun lock system including a chamber restriction unit and a key. The chamber restriction unit includes a lock screw, a base, a nose, a stud connected between the nose and the base, at least two expandable rings and at least one solid spacer. The lock screw includes a threaded body and a lock screw head with a key receiver to receive the key. The base includes a threaded lock screw hole to receive the threaded body of the lock screw. The nose includes a lock screw body through hole to receive the threaded body of the lock screw. Each of the at least two expandable rings includes a stud hole to slide over the stud. Each of the at least one solid spacer includes a stud hole to slide over the stud and be between the two expandable rings.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/804,854 filed Jun. 15, 2006

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to the field of gun lockdevices, and more particularly to a gun lock used in a chamber of anytype of gun, including revolvers, rifles, shot guns or automatic typepistols and rifles.

As is generally known, there is a proliferation of gun use in the UnitedStates, that it has become a national problem. Hardly a day passes whenthe news media does not report the occurrence of a serious crime orsuicide committed with the use of a gun, or the injury or death of anindividual from an accidental gun shot wound. Various surveys report thesignificance of firearm population in terms of the injury and death thatresult from the use of firearms. Injuries resulting from either theintentional or unintentional use of firearms constitute one of theleading causes of death due to injury. The risk of firearm death ishighest for adolescents and young adults. It is axiomatic that with agiven probability of both intentional and unintentional woundings anddeaths associated with firearms, that the ever increasing number offirearms in civilian hands will result in a correspondingly increasingnumber of such wounding and deaths.

Two major factors to be derived from the foregoing information form thebasis for the present invention. One is the need and intent in today'ssociety of the civilian population to be able to defend itself in timeof need; the other is the need to achieve a significant reduction in thenumber of injuries and deaths resulting from the use of these guns.Various measures have been tried and adopted from time to time in aneffort to achieve this objective, with varying degrees of success.However, the present invention is directed principally toward affectinga significant reduction in the number of injuries and deaths resultingfrom accidental or unintentional discharge of a gun from the followingcommon situations, among others: (a) children playing with loaded gunswhich are accessible to them; (b) children committing suicide with gunswhich are directly accessible to them or are obtained from others; (c)unintentional shooting committed in the extreme stress of a highlyemotional situation; (d) any shooting carried out with a stolen handgun; and (e) any other situation where a shooting could have beenprevented by rendering the gun inoperable and useless by anyone but theauthorized owner or user.

Firearm safety devices have long been well known, having evolved fromsimple mechanical trigger obstructions to rather sophisticated built-infiring mechanism locking devices, as well as to external devicesdesigned to be attached to a gun to prevent the gun from being operatedin an unintended manner. For example, one type of gun lock devicecommercially available attaches to the trigger guard of the gun andprevents manual access to the trigger. The problem with this type isthat there have still been accidental discharges of loaded guns. Anothertype of gun lock device is a cable which is passed down the muzzle endof the barrel of the gun and out through the chamber of the gun. Theends of the cable are then locked together with either a key or acombination lock. The cable can be easily cut. Another type gun lockdevices to be found in the prior art is a rigid device which is inserteddown the barrel of the gun and is locked therein by suitable means sothat it cannot be removed except by an authorized person who knows howto unlock the device. However, the current design suffers from thedisadvantages that it can easily be accidentally discharged duringremoval of the device from the gun, it may not work on existing guns,and the device can be removed from the gun by an unauthorized person,allowing the safety integrity of these devices to be defeated withoutgreat difficulty if one has common tools and skills, or can exertsufficient force to extract the rod from the barrel.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a gun lock systemand method of use to over the disadvantages of current gun lockingdevices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A gun lock system including a chamber restriction unit and a key. Thechamber restriction unit includes a lock screw, a base, a nose, a studconnected between the nose and the base, at least two expandable ringsand at least one solid spacer. The lock screw includes a threaded bodyand a lock screw head with a key receiver to receive the key. The baseincludes a threaded lock screw hole to receive the threaded body of thelock screw. The nose includes a lock screw body through hole to allowpassage of the threaded body of the lock screw. Each of the at least twoexpandable rings includes a stud hole to allow each of the at least twoexpandable rings to slide over the stud. Each of the at least one solidspacer includes a stud hole to allow each of the at least one solidspacer to slide over the stud and be between the two expandable rings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side cut-away view of a gun lock system in a gun accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of three chamber restriction unitsaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of one of the three chamber restriction unitsshown in FIG. 2 according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a exploded view of the chamber restriction unit shown in FIG.3 according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a exploded view of one of the three chamber restriction unitsshown in FIG. 2 according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is exploded view of the chamber restriction unit shown in FIG. 5according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a exploded view of one of the three chamber restriction unitsshown in FIG. 2 according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is exploded view of the chamber restriction unit shown in FIG. 7according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is a gun locking system and method of use. The gunlocking system includes a chamber restriction unit and a key. Thechamber restriction unit is shaped similar to ammunition used in a gun,so as to simulate gun ammunition. Gun ammunition usually includes abullet and a casing. FIG. 1 shows a chamber restriction unit 10 in achamber 12 of a gun 14 and a key 16 to engage the chamber restrictionunit 10. The chamber restriction unit 10 of FIG. 1 simulates the casingand bullet combination of gun ammunition.

FIG. 2 shows three different versions of the chamber restriction unit.The chamber restriction unit 10 of FIG. 2 simulates the casing andbullet combination of gun ammunition for pistol ammunition. The chamberrestriction unit 18 of FIG. 2 simulates the casing of gun ammunitionused in small caliber pistols and rifles. The chamber restriction unit20 of FIG. 2 simulates the casing of gun ammunition used in largercaliber rifles. The simulation of gun ammunition by the chamberrestriction units 10, 18, 20 allows the chamber restriction units 10,18, 20 to be loaded into the chamber 12 of the gun 14 using a gunmagazine, the same as gun ammunition is loaded into the chamber 12 ofthe gun 14.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of chamber restriction unit 10 of FIG. 2,which simulates the casing and bullet combination of gun ammunition. Thechamber restriction unit 10 includes a base 22, expandable ring 24,solid spacer 26, expandable ring 24, nose 28 and lock screw 30. The lockscrew 30 includes a lock screw head 32 and a lock screw body 34. Thelock screw body 34 is threaded. The lock screw head 32 includes a keyreceiver 36. The key receiver 36 is shown as a hex key cut out toreceive a hex key. The base 22 includes an outside surface 38 and rearend 40 that simulates the rear end of a casing. This allows an extractorof a gun to remove the chamber restriction unit 10 from the chamber 12of the gun 14. The base 22 also includes a stud 42 with a lock screwhole 44. The lock screw hole 44 is threaded to receive the threaded lockscrew body 34. The expandable rings 24 and the solid spacer 26 eachinclude a stud hole 46. The nose 28 is shaped like a bullet and theupper part of a casing. The top of the nose 28 includes a lock screwhead chamber 48. The bottom 50 of the nose 28 includes a stud chamber 52to receive the stud 42 of the base 22, as shown in FIG. 4. The nose 28also includes a lock screw body through hole 54 between the lock screwhead chamber 48 and the stud chamber 52. The lock screw body throughhole 54 allows the lock screw body 34 of the lock screw 30 to pass ontothe lock screw hole 44 of the stud 42 of the base 22.

The chamber restriction unit 10 of FIG. 2 is assembled by placing one ofthe expandable rings 24 over the stud 42 of the base 22 using the studhole 46 of the expandable ring 24. The solid spacer 26 is placed overthe stud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 of the solid spacer26. Then, the other expandable ring 24 is placed over the stud 42 of thebase 22 using the stud hole 46 of the expandable ring 24. An O-ring istypically chosen to be the expandable ring 24. The stud 42 of the base22 is then inserted into the stud chamber 52 of the nose 28. The lockscrew 30 is inserted into the lock screw head chamber 48 and through thelock screw body through hole 54. The lock screw 30 is threaded into thelock screw hole 44 of the stud 42 of the base 22 just enough to tightenthe components of the chamber restriction unit 10 together, withoutexpanding the expandable rings 24. The chamber restriction unit 10 isready for use and placed into the chamber 12 of a gun 14, as shown inFIG. 1. Once the chamber restriction unit 10 is in the chamber 12 of thegun 14, the key 16 is inserted into the barrel 56 of the gun 14 and intothe key receiver 36 of the lock screw head 32. The lock screw 30 is thenthreaded further into the lock screw hole 44 of the stud 42 of the base22, by rotating the key 16. The lock screw 30 is threaded further inorder to expand the expandable rings 24, due to pressure excreted fromthe nose 28, base 22 and solid spacer 26 being pressed together. Theexpandable rings 24 press against the chamber 12 of the gun 14 duringthe expansion of the expandable rings 24 to lodge the chamberrestriction unit 10 in the chamber 12. The chamber restriction unit 10is lodged in the chamber 12, such that the chamber restriction unit 10can not be removed by the action of the gun 14, unless the lock screw 30is unthreaded from the base 22 enough to allow the expandable rings 24to retract.

FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of chamber restriction unit 20 of FIG. 2,which simulates casing of gun ammunition used in larger caliber rifles.The chamber restriction unit 20 includes a base 22, expandable ring 24,solid spacer 26, expandable ring 24, nose 28 and lock screw 30. The lockscrew 30 includes a lock screw head 32 and a lock screw body 34. Thelock screw body 34 is threaded. The lock screw head 32 includes a keyreceiver 36. The key receiver 36 is shown as a hex key cut out toreceive a hex key. The base 22 includes an outside surface 38 and rearend 40 that simulates the rear end of a casing. This allows an extractorof a gun to remove the chamber restriction unit 20 from the chamber 12of the gun 14. The base 22 also includes a stud 42 with a lock screwhole 44. The lock screw hole 44 is threaded to receive the threaded lockscrew body 34. The expandable rings 24 and the solid spacer 26 eachinclude a stud hole 46. The nose 28 is shaped like an upper part of acasing. The top of the nose 28 includes a lock screw head chamber 48.The bottom 50 of the nose 28 includes a stud chamber 52 to receive thestud 42 of the base 22, as shown in FIG. 6. The nose 28 also includes alock screw body through hole 54 between the lock screw head chamber 48and the stud chamber 52. The lock screw body through hole 54 allows thelock screw body 34 of the lock screw 30 to pass onto the lock screw hole44 of the stud 42 of the base 22.

The chamber restriction unit 20 of FIG. 2 is assembled by placing one ofthe expandable rings 24 over the stud 42 of the base 22 using the studhole 46 of the expandable ring 24. The solid spacer 26 is placed overthe stud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 of the solid spacer26. Then, the other expandable ring 24 is placed over the stud 42 of thebase 22 using the stud hole 46 of the expandable ring 24. A thickerO-ring is shown as the expandable ring 24, as compared the one used withchamber restriction unit 10. The stud 42 of the base 22 is then insertedinto the stud chamber 52 of the nose 28. The lock screw 30 is insertedinto the lock screw head chamber 48 and through the lock screw bodythrough hole 54. The lock screw 30 is threaded into the lock screw hole44 of the stud 42 of the base 22 just enough to tighten the componentsof the chamber restriction unit 20 together, without expanding theexpandable rings 24. The chamber restriction unit 20 is ready for useand placed into the chamber 12 of a gun 14, as shown in FIG. 1. Once thechamber restriction unit 20 is in the chamber 12 of the gun 14, the key16 is inserted into the barrel 56 of the gun 14 and into the keyreceiver 36 of the lock screw head 32. The lock screw 30 is thenthreaded further into the lock screw hole 44 of the stud 42 of the base22, by rotating the key 16. The lock screw 30 is threaded further inorder to expand the expandable rings 24, due to pressure excreted fromthe nose 28, base 22 and solid spacer 26 being pressed together. Theexpandable rings 24 press against the chamber 12 of the gun 14 duringthe expansion of the expandable rings 24 to lodge the chamberrestriction unit 20 in the chamber 12. The chamber restriction unit 20is lodged in the chamber 12, such that the chamber restriction unit 20can not be removed by the action of the gun 14, unless the lock screw 30is unthreaded from the base 22 enough to allow the expandable rings 24to retract.

FIG. 7 shows an exploded view of chamber restriction unit 18 of FIG. 2,which simulates the casing of gun ammunition used in small caliberpistols and rifles. The chamber restriction unit 18 includes a base 22,three expandable rings 24, two solid spacers 26, nose 28 and lock screw30. The lock screw 30 includes a lock screw head 32 and a lock screwbody 34. The lock screw body 34 is threaded. The lock screw head 32includes a key receiver 36. The key receiver 36 is shown as a hex keycut out to receive a hex key. The base 22 includes an outside surface 38and rear end 40 that simulates the rear end of a casing. This allows anextractor of a gun to remove the chamber restriction unit 18 from thechamber 12 of the gun 14. The base 22 also includes a stud 42 with alock screw hole 44. The lock screw hole 44 is threaded to receive thethreaded lock screw body 34. The expandable rings 24 and the solidspacers 26 each include a stud hole 46. The nose 28 is shaped like anupper part of a casing. The top of the nose 28 includes a lock screwhead chamber 48. The bottom 50 of the nose 28 includes a stud chamber 52to receive the stud 42 of the base 22, as shown in FIG. 8. The nose 28also includes a lock screw body through hole 54 between the lock screwhead chamber 48 and the stud chamber 52. The lock screw body throughhole 54 allows the lock screw body 34 of the lock screw 30 to pass ontothe lock screw hole 44 of the stud 42 of the base 22.

The chamber restriction unit 18 of FIG. 2 is assembled by placing one ofthe expandable rings 24 over the stud 42 of the base 22 using the studhole 46 of the expandable ring 24. A solid spacer 26 is placed over thestud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 of the solid spacer 26.Another expandable ring 24 is placed over the stud 42 of the base 22using the stud hole 46 of the expandable ring 24. Another solid spacer26 is placed over the stud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 ofthe solid spacer 26. Then, the final expandable ring 24 is placed overthe stud 42 of the base 22 using the stud hole 46 of the expandable ring24. An O-ring is typically chosen to be the expandable ring 24. The stud42 of the base 22 is then inserted into the stud chamber 52 of the nose28. The lock screw 30 is inserted into the lock screw head chamber 48and through the lock screw body through hole 54. The lock screw 30 isthreaded into the lock screw hole 44 of the stud 42 of the base 22 justenough to tighten the components of the chamber restriction unit 18together, without expanding the expandable rings 24. The chamberrestriction unit 18 is ready for use and placed into the chamber 12 of agun 14, as shown in FIG. 1. Once the chamber restriction unit 18 is inthe chamber 12 of the gun 14, the key 16 is inserted into the barrel 56of the gun 14 and into the key receiver 36 of the lock screw head 32.The lock screw 30 is then threaded further into the lock screw hole 44of the stud 42 of the base 22, by rotating the key 16. The lock screw 30is threaded further in order to expand the expandable rings 24, due topressure excreted from the nose 28, base 22 and solid spacers 26 beingpressed together. The expandable rings 24 press against the chamber 12of the gun 14 during the expansion of the expandable rings 24 to lodgethe chamber restriction unit 18 in the chamber 12. The chamberrestriction unit 20 is lodged in the chamber 12, such that the chamberrestriction unit 18 can not be removed by the action of the gun 14,unless the lock screw 30 is unthreaded from the base 22 enough to allowthe expandable rings 24 to retract. Since the expandable rings 24 aresmaller for smaller caliber ammunition, an additional ring 24 allows formore surface area contact between the chamber 12 of the gun 14 and thechamber restriction unit 18 and provides more resistant to preventremoval of the chamber restriction unit 18 without the key 16.

While different embodiments of the invention has been described indetail herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatvarious modifications and alternatives to the embodiments could bedeveloped in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. It isenvisioned that there can be different key and key receiverscombinations then are shown. It is envisioned that the components shownin each embodiment shown in the figures can be mixed and matched.Accordingly, the particular arrangements are illustrative only and arenot limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given thefull breadth of any and all equivalents thereof.

1. A gun lock system adapted to be used with a gun having a chamber andbarrel, comprising: a chamber restriction unit and a key; said chamberrestriction unit comprising: a lock screw, said lock screw including alock screw head, said lock screw head including a key receiver, saidlock screw including a threaded body; a base, said base including athreaded lock screw hole to receive said threaded body of said lockscrew; a nose, said nose including a lock screw body through hole toallow passage of said threaded body of said lock screw; a stud connectedbetween said nose and said base; at least two expandable rings, each ofsaid at least two expandable rings including stud holes to allow each ofsaid at least two expandable rings to slide over said stud; at least onesolid spacer, each of said at least one solid spacer including a studhole to allow each of said at least one solid spacer to slide over saidstud and be between said at least two expandable rings; and said atleast two expandable rings positioned between said base and said nose sothat when said threaded body of said lock screw is threaded into saidthreaded lock screw hole, said base, said at least one solid spacer andsaid nose move closer together and apply a compression force to said atleast two expandable rings and expand said at least two expandable ringsdue to said compression force; and said key having an end fashioned tofit into said key receiver of said lock screw such that said lock screwwill rotate when said key is rotated to expand said expandable ringsagainst the chamber of the gun, said key adapted to be long enough tofit down the barrel of the gun so as to reach said key receiver whensaid key receiver is in the chamber of the gun.
 2. The gun lock systemof claim 1, wherein said at least two expandable rings are O-rings. 3.The gun lock system of claim 1, wherein said base includes a rearsection which is shaped like the rear of ammunition casing to allow anextractor of a gun to remove said chamber restriction unit from thechamber of the gun.
 4. The gun lock system of claim 1, wherein saidchamber restriction unit is shaped like ammunition used in the gun, toallow loading of said chamber restriction unit into the gun in a similarfashion as gun ammunition when using a gun magazine.
 5. The gun locksystem of claim 1, wherein said stud is formed as part of said base. 6.The gun lock system of claim 1, wherein said stud is formed as part ofsaid nose.
 7. The gun lock system of claim 1, wherein said nose includesa lock screw head chamber to receive said lock screw head.
 8. A chamberrestriction unit adapted to be used with a gun having a chamber andbarrel, comprising: a lock screw, said lock screw including a lock screwhead, said lock screw head including a key receiver, said lock screwincluding a threaded body; a base, said base including a threaded lockscrew hole to receive said threaded body of said lock screw; a nose,said nose including a lock screw body through hole to allow passage ofsaid threaded body of said lock screw; a stud connected between saidnose and said base; at least two expandable rings, each of said at leasttwo expandable rings including stud holes to allow each of said at leasttwo expandable rings to slide over said stud; at least one solid spacer,each of said at least one solid spacer including a stud hole to alloweach of said at least one solid spacer to slide over said stud and bebetween said at least two expandable rings; and said at least twoexpandable rings positioned between said base and said nose so that whensaid threaded body of said lock screw is threaded into said threadedlock screw hole, said base, said at least one solid spacer and said nosemove closer together and apply a compression force to said at least twoexpandable rings and expand said at least two expandable rings due tosaid compression force.
 9. The chamber restriction unit of claim 8,wherein said at least two expandable rings are O-rings.
 10. The chamberrestriction unit of claim 8, wherein said base includes a rear sectionwhich is shaped like the rear of ammunition casing to allow an extractorof a gun to remove said chamber restriction unit from the chamber of thegun.
 11. The chamber restriction unit of claim 8, wherein said chamberrestriction unit is shaped like ammunition used in the gun, to allowloading of said chamber restriction unit into the gun in a similarfashion as gun ammunition when using a gun magazine.
 12. The chamberrestriction unit of claim 8, wherein said stud is formed as part of saidbase.
 13. The chamber restriction unit of claim 8, wherein said stud isformed as part of said nose.
 14. The chamber restriction unit of claim8, wherein said nose includes a lock screw head chamber to receive saidlock screw head.
 15. A method of preventing the firing of a guncomprising: inserting a chamber restriction unit in a chamber of thegun, the chamber restriction unit including a lock screw, where the lockscrew includes a lock screw head, where the lock screw head includes akey receiver, where the lock screw includes a threaded body; a base,where the base includes a threaded lock screw hole to receive thethreaded body of the lock screw; a nose, where the nose includes a lockscrew body through hole to allow passage of the threaded body of thelock screw; a stud connected between the nose and the base; at least twoexpandable rings, each of the at least two expandable rings includingstud holes to allow each of the at least two expandable rings to slideover the stud; at least one solid spacer, each of the at least one solidspacer including a stud hole to allow each of the at least one solidspacer to slide over the stud and be between the two expandable rings;and where the at least two expandable rings are positioned between thebase and the nose so that when the threaded body of the lock screw isthreaded into the threaded lock screw hole, the base, the at least onesolid spacer and the nose move closer together and apply a compressionforce to said at least two expandable rings and expand said at least twoexpandable rings due to the compression force; and inserting a key intoa barrel of the gun such that the key is inserted into the key receiver,where the key has an end fashioned to fit into the key receiver of thelock screw such that the lock screw will rotate when the key is rotatedto expand the expandable rings against the chamber of the gun; androtating the key to expand the expandable rings against the chamber ofthe gun and lodge the chamber restriction unit in the chamber such thatthe chamber restriction unit can not be removed from the chamber unlessthe lock screw is rotated by the key such that the expandable ringsretract from the chamber.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein thechamber restriction unit is inserted into the chamber in a manner thatgun ammunition is normally loaded into the chamber from a gun magazinedue to the chamber restriction unit being shaped similar to gunammunition normally loaded into the chamber of the gun.